December's meeting was our annual 'Christmas Bash'.
We had our usual Faith Supper with lots of good food being provided by the members.
Kate showed us how to make Christmas Stars which proved more tricky and 'sticky' than we had expected.
Plus an old friend and ex member joined us with her daughter. Unfortunately Jean is getting quite disabled and can no longer sew as she would like, therefore she is trying to sort out her sewing acquisitions including her considerable stash of material. For a small cash sum which will be donated to our local hospice, we were fortunate enough to have first pick of these goodies.
Then there was the 'Secret Santa'. Presents for everyone.
All this took up more time than we had anticipated so the quiz will be saved for another meeting. Probably the AGM next year.

For the January meeting, our speaker will be Phillipa  Naylor, award winning quilter and author who will be bringing copies of her latest book hot off the press. A good start to 2015.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

November's meeting was fantastic.
Our speaker Brioni Greenberg makes wonderful quilts and she brought a whole load of them for us to admire. Her choice of colour is stunning and unusual. All I could say at the end of her talk was WOW....
There are some photos in the meeting review section. I suggest you take a peek.

December is our Christmas Party. We will have our usual Faith Supper alongside Secret Santa, and The Christmas Quiz. Kate Smith will also teach us how to make a simple star decoration.  I am hoping to hang mine on our Christmas tree so I will take a photo and show you what it looks like later.
Merry Christmas Everybody

Following last month, at both the meeting where we did our bit for charity, in the form of making bags and liners for the 'Days for Girls' international and also at the Saturday Christmas workshop, where we had great fun sewing the 'Button Santa', this month we are just relaxing and have invited a speaker to join us on November 26th.
You can see more about the above in the meetings review and work shop sections of this blogg.

Brioni Greenberg seems to have packed a lot into her as yet quite short patchwork career.  Her book about jelly roll quilts and charm pack projects is inspiring and I have also seen some of the patterns she has had published on the quilt art web site. We are lucky that she is quite local and has agreed to come and speak to us and also I hope bring along some of her work to show us.

Yes I am really looking forward to the November meeting and if anyone wants to join us that evening you are most welcome.

I was sorry to miss the September meeting but I am sure you all had fun planning your Sew-a-Row quilts and I expect to see the results over the coming year. Thank you to Emma for putting some photos on the webpage.

The October meeting will be here soon and this is to remind members to bring along a rectangle of brightly coloured material (11 inches by 28 inches) to make a draw string bag for the Days for Girls charity.

We have purchased some flannel so that we can also sew liners to go in the bags. This seemed the easiest options as putting together all the items to go in the bags would have made them too heavy for posting to the United States but this way we can still make a small contribution.

I look forward to seeing you all on the 22nd of the month - til then happy quilting.

It seems a long time since I last added to the blog. We have had a couple of interesting meetings since then making the iron carrier with Kate,

           and felting with Joan.

Our next meeting is the AGM on July 23rd. This sounds dull but we hope to liven it up with a visit from Cotton Cloth Sales, the man from the Tuesday market in York who will be bringing all his wonderful cotton materials with him so that we can indulge ourselves by shopping and adding to our stashes. We have invited all our friends along and will be providing cake and running a raffle.

We will also be previewing what's on next years programme and discussing workshops and projects for the future.

So if you are interested in patchwork and want to know what White Rose Quilters are doing come and join us.

Next week is our May meeting on Wednesday 28th of the month.
I am looking forward to making the Ironing Mat and Carrier with Kate Smith. It will be great to be able to pack up and transport my still hot iron after using it at a workshop without worrying about where to put it in the car. Kate brought the prototype to the last meeting and it looked very professional and functional. Plus it does not take a lot of material to make, the main requirement being an inexpensive, silver, heat resistant ironing board cover that you transform into the mat and carrier.
WATCH THIS SPACE TO SEE HOW THEY TURN OUT!

Stars of Downton workshop.  12th May 2014

Had a wonderful time at the workshop today with my old friend and White Rose Quilters founder Lucy Anne Holiday. I hope everyone else in the group enjoyed it too.
The workshop was based round the block The Stars of Downton, and although the block is not technically difficult it produced some really pleasing and different effects depending on the fabrics used. Lucy  Anne brought along some samples of how the block is put together and we were away.
The church hall has had extra electric sockets put in since our last machine workshop which made life a lot easier with not so many trailing wires and plenty of room for everyone. There was plenty of tea, coffee and biscuits. What more could we want.
Here are a few photos of the event starting with Lucy Anne on the left explaining a technicality to some of the group and also photos of some of the finished blocks.

It is a while since the group has run a workshop and we definately need to plan more into the program for next year.

White Rose Quilters next event is a work shop with Lucy Anne Holiday.
Lucy Anne founded White Rose Quilters, when she lived in England for a number of years, and made lots of friends by holding quilting classes in her home. I count myself as privileged to have been taught by this excellent quilt teacher and, although she now lives back in Canada, we still keep in touch. Hence when I heard she would be over in England for a short while, I immediately asked if she would be willing to do a workshop for her old group.

Therefore we will be piecing a block called Stars of Downton on the afternoon of Monday 12th of May.

I am really looking forward to seeing my old friend and being taught another technique by this master in the quilt world.

Well as usual I seem to be last minute with this blog before our meeting tonight.
The last meeting was inspiring with our speaker Alison Bramley amazing us with her silk quilts and wall hangings. The colours in her work were dazzling and has made me want to try using silk myself. For more details and a link to Alison's website see the meeting review section.

This month we have Barbara Cox who is going to teach us how to stitch depression lace. I first saw Barbara stitching this whilst stewarding at the Quilt Museum in York and was so intrigued that I asked there and then if she would do a workshop for us. I am looking forward to tonight and hope to have some pictures for the blog after the meeting. So keep in touch with us and find out what I am talking about next time.

I am sorry it is so long since the last blog. I was sure I had done it before I went away on holiday but it seems to have disappeared into the ether.

The talk in February by Heather Audin curator of the quilt museum was informative and relaxing. It was interesting to hear about the work that goes on behind the scenes to keep the museum running and conserve and store the quilts. I would recommend Heather as a speaker to other groups.

The speaker for tonight is Alison Bramley and her talk is entitled Frazzled and Dazzled. I am looking forward to seeing her work. I don't work in silk myself as I find it too slippery but I admire quilt artists who do.

I know this is probably too short notice but we would welcome any visitors to the meeting who want to come along and we have a raffle too.

I am sorry it is so long since the last blogg. I was sure I had done it before I went on holiday but it seems to have disappeared into the ether.
February's meeting with Heather Audin curator of the quilt museum was informative and relaxing. It was interesting to hear about all the tasks that go on behind the scenes at the museum to conserve and store the old quilts. I would recommend her as a speaker to other groups.

Today we have Alison Bramley coming to speak to us. I am looking forward to her talk entitled Frazzled and Dazzled and seeing her work. I don't work in silk myself, as I find it too slippery to work with, but I admire quilt artists who do.
I know it is now very short notice but visitors are welcome to attend and we are running a raffle too.






We had a good turnout of members for the January meeting and everyone was very industrious, beavering away making their Sadie's Bags. The combinations of fabric for the bag exteriors were very varied as can be seen from the photos in the section on meeting reviews. It was too big a project to be finished in one evening but I hope to see the finished articles in next months Show and Tell and will take photos then.

The February meeting is less demanding on members but I hope will be just as enjoyable. Heather Audin the Quilt Museums curator is coming to speak to us and bringing along some slides to illustrate her talk. Heather's knowledge of the history of English patchwork and quilting is extensive and I am sure we will all learn something new from her talk, a Behind the Scenes Look at the Collection of the Quilt Museum.

The meeting is open to visitors so do come along if you have an interest in old quilts. You would be made very welcome.

Happy New Year

January 2014

Happy New Year everyone. Apologies for the lateness of this update. things have been a little hectic over Christmas and the New Year but we have now managed to publish a review of our Christmas meeting. I hope you all enjoyed the festive season and are ready to get sewing again in 2014.

The next meeting is January 23rd, and members will be making a bag to carry all those lunch time, or possibly sewing essentials around in. The requirements are available from the chairwoman on request, so if you are looking for a new challenge in 2014 email whiterosequilters@gmail.com and come along to the next meeting. We will be happy to see you.